


Run For Lust

by Mazarin221b



Category: Banana Fish (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Angst, Canon Compliant, First Time, Hand Jobs, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-14
Updated: 2019-02-14
Packaged: 2019-10-28 12:17:11
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,343
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17787260
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mazarin221b/pseuds/Mazarin221b
Summary: They can't have him, but they have each other.Eiji shrugs. “I just know Ash needs help, so I will help him. It’s not the easiest thing I’ve ever done, and I’m afraid fairly often. I just…”“You just don’t want to leave him,” Shorter says, with the wisdom of the damned.“Yes,” Eiji replies, and Shorter’s eyes won’t meet his.





	Run For Lust

**Author's Note:**

> A prompt from Kyy for ShorEiji, which was a fun challenge. I couldn't add all the tags I wanted from my phone, so Id say "implied polyamory" and "longing" and "they can't have him so why not each other?" 
> 
> My laptop is dead so it's hard to edit. If you see an error, let me know, ok? Thanks.

Eiji watches as Ash stretches, his ratty t-shirt riding up over his taut stomach, the edge of his jeans dipping dangerously low over his hip. The curl of warmth in his gut blooms, white hot and dangerous, and Eiji swallows it down as best as he can.

“So fuckin’ tired, seriously,” Ash says. “I’m taking that shitty mattress tonight, you guys can fight over the sofa.”

“Dibs on tomorrow,” Shorter tosses out before Eiji can gather his scattered thoughts. Damn, he’ll be on the sofa two days in a row, if he even manages to beat Shorter for it tonight. He loses rock, paper, scissors more often than simple odds would suggest and Eiji is certain Shorter is cheating. Somehow.

Ash half-heartedly waves and disappears down the hall, the dark swallowing him up as he turns into the small bedroom. Eiji can feel the twitch in his feet that want to propel his body along in Ash’s wake, maybe figure out if that tiny mattress would fit two.

“Hate to see him go but love to watch him leave, eh?” Shorter snarks, snapping Eiji out of his reverie.

Eiji glances to the side. “Was I that obvious?”

“Yeah, but only because I’ve seen that look on everyone’s face that’s ever met him before you.” Shorter kicks his legs off the table and leans forward, looking earnestly at Eiji without the cover of his ever-present sunglasses, and it’s sort of frightening. “Look, Ash doesn’t fuck for fun. Never has.”

“That’s...that’s the saddest thing I’ve ever heard, I think,” Eiji says.

“‘Course it's sad. It’s fucking depressing.” Shorter pulls a cigarette out of his pocket and lights it up. “The only difference between you and them though is that you were dumb enough to fall in love with him.”

Eiji can feel a flush light up his face in an instant. Is this love? If nothing else, it certainly feels like devotion, following Ash to this strange little seaside town for no other reason than Ash needed to go, and needed help. He thinks about the smile on Ash’s face just that morning, teaching him how to shoot; the warmth of the summer sun on his face and the ringing laugh in his ears as he missed wide for the tenth or more time that day, and Ash saying “Oh my god you are the worst at this, here—” and placing his hand over Eiji’s again.

The searing touch of skin on his, sunk deep like a brand.

“This isn’t … this isn’t the time,” Eiji says. “I’d never burden him with such a thing.”

Shorter laughs, a sharp bark that rings off the paneled walls. “Hell, it’s never the time. Trust me. We’re all running for our lives every single day, it’s not like anyone has the time to sit down and have a deep conversation, you know? You live and let die, or whatever that song says.” Shorter takes another drag on his cigarette and closes his eyes, tilts his head back.

Eiji narrows his eyes and looks at him closely. “You seem to have given this a lot of thought.”

Shorter opens his eyes and pins him with a look “Oh Eiji, you sweet little Japanese flower, you have no idea.”

Suspicion begins to unfurl in Eiji’s chest, a falling into place of a lot of strange little bits of information and behavior, and he sits up straighter in his chair. “You’re in love with him, too, aren’t you?”

Shorter snorts a laugh. “Of course I am, how do you think I could see it in you so easily?”

Eiji is fascinated by Shorter’s easy confession. “Does he know?”

“Oh, he’s probably guessed. But he trusts me a whole hell of a lot, and honestly that’s the next best thing.”

There’s a creak from the hallway and they both snap their attention toward it, Eiji’s heart hammering in his throat. He doesn’t see anything, and, now that he’s had a second to think about it, he realizes it was probably just Ash turning over in bed, the frame old and creaking. He chuckles, shaky, and Shorter runs his hand over his mohawk.

“Fucking hell, he’d kill us both if he heard,” Shorter says quietly.

“Mmm. You know how he sleeps. Dead to the world.” Eiji wonders why this conversation feels so easy between them. He should be jealous, should be eaten alive with the knowledge that Shorter knows Ash so well in ways that he does not, but instead he simply feels sympathy for a man caught in the same maelstrom as he is, wrapped up in longing for a man neither of them will likely ever have.

Shorter huffs out a breath then visibly relaxes. He kicks back and balances his chair carefully on its back legs. “I gotta be honest with you, I didn’t think you had it in you to stick it out with us like this.”

Eiji wrinkles his nose. “Why? I am not a coward,” he says, and hates how prim he sounds.

“Nah, it’s not like that. You’re just not like us, you know? You’re tough, but tough in a way that I know you’ve not ever seen this life, not like we have. You’d be more scared if you had.”

Eiji shrugs. “I just know Ash needs help, so I will help him. It’s not the easiest thing I’ve ever done, and I’m afraid fairly often. I just…”

“You just don’t want to leave him,” Shorter says, with the wisdom of the damned.

“Yes,” Eiji replies, and Shorter’s eyes won’t meet his.

Shorter reaches over and picks up the drink Ibe had left there before he and Max had taken off for a walk. He swallows the half-measure of bourbon in one go, and Eiji wrinkles his nose. “What’s that for?” he asks.

“I don’t know, honestly,” Shorter replies. “I just think about it, sometimes. About him. And I know…”

Eiji puts a hand on his arm. “I know, Shorter. I do. If you think about it too hard, you’ll want to kill them all.”

Shorter’s eyes finally meet his. Eiji can see the fire, the fear, and the sorrow that he can feel reflected in his own. Shorter nods, and covers Eiji’s hand with his. His hands are big and warm, and Eiji feels the spark of connection between them, a measure of acceptance by someone in Ash’s orbit, and it’s comforting. Shorter knows how he feels by dint of feeling it himself.

Eiji isn’t sure who moves first, one hand on Shorter’s arm and the other on his head, but in the space of a heartbeat their foreheads are pressed together in solidarity. Eiji can feel his heart thundering in his ears, a fierce wave of tenderness for this man who cares as much for Ash as he does. He carefully rubs his thumb over the crest of Shorter’s ear before he thinks about it, and pulls away with a blush when he feels Shorter shudder under his hands.

“It’s late,” Eiji whispers. “You should sleep. I’ll take the chair, tonight.”

“You took it last night.” Shorter’s other hand has creeped up his back, solid along his ribs, and tendrils of fascination grow in Eiji’s gut, wrap around his spine.

“Yes, well. I’m smaller.”

Shorter pulls back just enough to flash him a grin. “You saying I’m fat?”

“No! Just...bigger. Than I am.”

“Sweet thing, my left nut is bigger than you are.”

“...Nut?”

“You know, balls, nuts, god.” Shorter contemplates him from a space closer than a breath. “You really are an innocent one, aren’t you?”

Eiji swallows, slightly uncomfortable. “And if I am?”

Shorter smirks, and Eiji, even in his inexperience, knows this bodes both good and poorly for his future. “Then you might want to go ahead and walk on out of here if you want to keep it that way.”

This must be a feint, or a protective push, designed to scare Eiji off. Shorter thinks that he can intimidate him with heated touches and innuendo and Eiji should back off, concede that yes, he's as inexperienced as Shorter thinks he is, yes, he's a bit nervous about sex in general. But he looks at Shorter's dark eyes, alight with salacious mirth, and finds courage. He brushes his lips right at the corner of Shorter's mouth and murmurs, “And if I don't?”

The hands on the bare skin of his back tighten in response.

“Then come along, sweet thing,” Shorter whispers. “I think we could have a little fun together.”

Shorter leads Eiji back through the kitchen, out the back door and into the warm stillness of the night. The sea breeze has picked up and it rifles the purple fringes of Shorter's hair, pushing it out of its usual stand up style. Eiji's heart is beating its way out of his chest; he called Shorter's bluff and now here he is, leaning against the weathered siding of the house, Shorter caging him in with his arms.

“This stops any time you say so,” Shorter says. “I'm not one of those jerks that's gonna take from you.”

“I'm okay,” Eiji says, and he is, really, pent up desire a pressure that needs release, and Shorter knows this, knows how it feels. Eiji rolls his hips against the front of Shorter's jeans and gets a spluttering gasp in response.

“Slow down, baby,” he whispers, then kisses Eiji gently, so gently, his lips barely moving against Eiji's own. Eiji hums frustration and pulls him in harder, tries to remember that single kiss Ash gave him, how his mouth felt, how his tongue pressed in just so-

“Damn,” Shorter swears. “You really do need it bad, don't you. Here, let me touch you, okay?” Shorter reaches for his fly and Eiji twitches, nervousness flaring in his belly. Shorter must feel it because he soothes him with another kiss, and before he knows it, Shorter's hand is inside his jeans and dipping into his underwear.

“So hard for me already, pretty thing,” he croons and Eiji's knees almost go out from under him at the feel of that rough hand on his cock, stroking and squeezing in turns.

“Oh,” is all he can say, the sound a punched-out gasp in the night, the build of pressure in his balls startling in its intensity. He's going to come too fast, much too fast.

“Stop,” Eiji chokes out. “You, I mean, I want to touch you too,” and he's grateful for the darkness that covers up the flush he can feel on his cheeks.

“Thought you'd never ask,” Shorter drawls, then pulls back to undo his own jeans and shoves them down far enough to get his cock out. It's big, curved and flared at the head, and Eiji has a wild thought about how it might feel in his mouth before Shorter pushes Eiji back against the house and plasters himself to Eiji's front, his hand fumbling between their bodies. Eiji can feel him grasping and slots himself between Shorter's legs, trying to hold still until Shorter gets a hand on them both. The sensation is overwhelming, their cocks pressed together in the circle of Shorter's warm hand.

“Kiss me,” Eiji says, and screws his eyes shut, head knocking back against the house with a thump.

“You like how this feels, pretty thing,” Shorter says, then catches Eiji's lips in a searing kiss, one that tastes like cigarettes and alcohol and Eiji _burns_. “You want more?”

Eiji nods frantically, trying to rock his hips in time with Shorter’s hand, the friction ramping up his arousal and then, in a moment of clarity against the tidal wave of pleasure, Eiji opens his eyes and above him is the vast expanse of the sky, sparkling with millions of stars. He feels a fierce pang of regret that Ash isn't the one with his hands on Eiji's body, isn't the one gasping into his neck with passion. But then the coiled heat in his groin becomes too much and he comes with a shudder and a hiccupping cry all over Shorter's hand.

“That's it, baby,” Shorter coos at him. “Give it all to me, I've got you. I’m almost there too. Yeah, Eiji, I'm coming -” and Shorter shoves hard against Eiji's stomach, warm come flooding his skin and dripping down into his underwear.

Shorter heaves panting breaths into Eiji's shoulder, his body curled over Eiji's own. Eiji feels a moment of guilt that there, in the heated peak of his passion, he thought of Ash instead, and he's not quite sure what to do with that, his own first time tainted with the stain of guilt.

Shorter smooths his thumb between Eiji's eyebrows. “No, sweet one. No guilt. Ash wouldn't blame you and neither do I.”

Eiji nods, then, because it just feels right, he slips his arms around Shorter's waist and hugs him, hard. “Thank you,” he says, tentative.

Shorter presses his forehead to Eiji's and smiles. “Any time. That's not even the most fun we could have together,” he says, and winks. “You still have lots to learn.”

Eiji feels that warm bloom of affection return. “And I'm sure you're willing to teach me,” he says, drily. He wrinkles his nose at the mess in his jeans and zips up. He'll have to do a quick cleanup in the bathroom and hope no one asks too many questions.

Shorter lightly pushes Eiji back against the house and kisses him again, this time soft and sweet, their lips gentle and petal-soft. Eiji blinks at the unexpected tenderness and pulls back, wondering.

“I really should have said this before, but I'm gonna be here for you always, Eiji,” Shorter says. “You're a good guy, one of the few. Ash cares about you, and so do I. So, you know. Rely on me.”

Eiji can feel tears spring to his eyes. He dashes them away with the back of his hand, then smiles, laces Shorter's fingers with his own, and proudly walks back into the house, unashamed.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Title from Mother Mother, "Mouth of the Devil." I highly suggest listening to it.


End file.
